


Amour En Fleur

by hollywoodproblems



Category: Free!
Genre: AU, M/M, Multichapter, Rinharu Week, Work In Progress, also ive never written smut so hang in there me, flower shop au, idk what the heckie deck im doing, theyre gonna hook up in chapter 3 or 4 so hang in there folks
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-22
Updated: 2014-11-22
Packaged: 2018-02-26 14:35:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2655554
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hollywoodproblems/pseuds/hollywoodproblems
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>a rinharu week piece: Rin is instantly captivated by the newest patron at work in the tiny flower shop. Haru is new to town and Rin would do anything to get to know the mysterious blue eyed man better- but he gets more than he bargained for when he learns a secret about Haru that leads him to admire the quiet man even more. NSFW in later chapter- please go easy on me cause I never write rinharu or smut!!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“Do the flowers help you digest or something?”  
It was a stupid line and he regretted it the moment it left his mouth, the dark haired man lifting his blue eyes from their gaze on the row of carnations in surprise and then confusion. Rin shoved his hands deep in the pockets of his apron and glanced away, confidence lost as he grumbled the lame explanation,  
“’cause you’re always eating when you come here…”  
He had been watching the dark haired man for a few days now from his perch behind the counter, using the bunches of half-off mums gathered around the cash register to hide his watchful gaze as it followed the quickly-becoming-regular customer around the small flower shop, the dark haired man perusing the plethora of blooms and Rin perusing him. He wasn’t trying to be creepy or anything- people like the young man just didn’t come around that often, not for several days in a row, not unless they were fighting with their girlfriend or something and even then they wouldn’t spend so much time pacing the aisles and examining the flowers before making their selection.   
To be perfectly honest, people didn’t come by the shop very often period so a half interesting distraction like this man was enough to spark the red head’s curiosity, Rin wondering where he had come from, what he did with all the flowers he took home, and why he was always eating when he came in. It certainly didn’t help that the young man was decidedly handsome, just a little shorter than the red head with long dark lashes and deep blue eyes, always dressed in dark jeans and a plain button down with the sleeves rolled to reveal toned but not overly muscular physique. Rin knew if he had seen the man around town before he would have remembered him: frankly, he was just his type.  
It had taken several days for him to decide he was going to try and flirt with the man, figuring he couldn’t hide behind the discount mums forever and that a little conversation would do some good for his chronic boredom. It was apparent now that he should have taken several more days to formulate a better pick up line than the one he had just delivered, but it couldn’t be helped now. The man looked between the red head standing over him and the croissant he was just finishing up before nodding at the wall clock with vines curling around its edges and replying simply,  
“Its lunch time.”  
Rin pulled his eyebrows together at such an answer and looked at the clock himself, its face reading 12:30. For a moment he remembered he’d be on lunch break soon and he began to look forward to the leftovers he had packed to eat before quickly shaking the thought away, remembering he was still in the middle of attempting badly to make conversation.  
“Are you new to town?”  
He attempted again, offering a casual smile. The dark haired man began to slowly make his way down the aisle again and Rin awkwardly shuffled along beside him, wondering why the guy hadn’t come to realize yet he was being flirted with when the red head was making it so painfully obvious.  
“I don’t think I’ve seen you around town before this week, so I figured I’d ask.”  
He added, leaning against the shelf in front of the man so he had no choice but to lend the red head his attention. Rin felt his stomach give a little jolt when the dark haired man lifted his gaze to meet red with dark blue, the red head musing to himself as he seemed to once a day now that this guy really was beautiful. He narrowed his eyes, finally feeling in his element again, and leaned a little closer.  
“You’ve been busying house plants every day- trying to make the new apartment more homey?”  
A flash of color in the stranger’s cheeks told him he had hit the nail on the head and he admired the thinly veiled timidness in the dark haired man’s features before saving him from the embarrassment he was suffering by suggesting enthusiastically,  
“In that case you should try one of these mint plants, it makes the room smell nice and its great for cooking!”  
The blue eyed man perked up at the last bit and turned to examine the plants Rin gestured to, carefully selecting a healthier looking sprout and beginning to read its label. Rin waited patiently and he received his award after several moments when the dark haired man offered shyly,  
“I like to cook. I think this would be nice.”  
“Well I’m happy to help, um…”  
Not wanting to lose his momentum Rin pointedly aimed for the dark haired man’s name, who finished his sentence with a quiet “Haru.”  
“Well Haru I’m Rin and I’m happy to help you pick out plants for the new place.”  
He turned to face the large front window of the shop, gazing with a smile out at the sunny day with his hands in his apron pockets.  
“If you need help with getting settled, too, I can help you out- I’ve lived here all my life so I know my way around.”  
Rin was getting carried away, a little excited at having successfully learned Haru’s name perhaps, and he began to explain as Haru continued perusing the mint plants,  
“See like this road here is like the main row of shops, on our right is the bookstore, the coffee shop, and the laundromat and on our left is an antique shop- they’re all fine except the laundry place, its over-priced and half the machines don’t work so don’t bother with that place, there’s a better one down the road. Across the street is another coffee place- the better of the two in my opinion- and then a dentist and the tattoo parlor. That tattoo shop is definitely the best in town, they do piercings and stuff too so whatever you need that’s the place to go.”  
The red head grinned over at Haru who blinked back at the expression with plant in hand. Realizing suddenly he was actually on the job Rin began to lead the blue eyed man back up to the register, continuing casually,  
“I have a few tattoos myself, you know. Actually, I planned on going over today to discuss getting a new one soon.”  
He leaned across the counter towards Haru and held out his forearm, fist up, trailing a finger up its length but watching the dark haired man with narrow red eyes and a sly grin as he did it,  
“Somewhere along here, I was thinking.”  
“Hm.”  
Haru offered wordlessly, glancing quickly down at his wallet to pull out a few dollars for the plant when he saw the red head’s expression. Rin worked hard not to look grumpy as he rung up the blue eyed man, wondering if he somehow wasn’t catching on or if he just wasn’t interested. The shyness and the blushing told him it couldn’t really be the latter but maybe he was just seeing what he wanted to see.  
“See you.”  
Haru offered simply before leaving, Rin waiting only a few moments after he was out the door before deflating with a heavy sigh and laying his head down on the counter beside the mums. He had finally talked to the mystery man, but with mixed results. He still was somewhat reeling from that first awful line, but the vision of those blue eyes peering up at him made it impossible for him to give up on Haru completely. If he was new to town Rin definitely had an advantage.   
He lifted his head to eye the wall clock which now read 12:45- lunch break- and he tried to put Haru out of his mind for the time being as he headed to the back to grab his lunch. The conversation had reminded him that he had his appointment at the tattoo parlor to look forward to, mind beginning to swim with possible designs for the bare patch of skin on his arm. Suddenly, he couldn’t wait for the end of his shift.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I dont know a single thing about tattoos just so everyone knows. (◡_◡✿) pls just be distracted by the rinharu.

Rin couldn’t help but grin as he entered the tattoo parlor, a bell attached to the door announcing his arrival though it did little to interrupt the loud music playing in the tiny lobby. It was empty save one employee behind the counter sketching in a notebook, Rin not surprised by the lack of attendance since it was close to closing time. The employee lifted their head when the red head entered and Rin was suddenly met with familiar blue eyes.  
“Oh, Haru? What’re you doing here?”  
The florist was genuinely surprised to see the strange man here but Haru seemed as equally surprised by the question, answering simply,  
“I work here.”  
“You do?”  
Rin instantly became embarrassed, memories of his gushing about the shop and his tattoo plans to the man suddenly becoming mortifying- if he had known Haru worked here he wouldn’t have said all that stupid stuff! He couldn’t believe all this time the dark haired man had always been eating because he was visiting on his lunch breaks- suddenly his answer earlier that day when he had glanced at the clock felt stupidly obvious.   
Haru blinked at the exclamation, seeming to decide it was too stupid to bother replying to before standing and coming out from behind the counter.  
“Come with me.”  
Rin could feel his ears burning as he was led to Haru’s work station, wanting to run away rather than take a seat in the reclining chair Haru gestured to but having no choice to comply. The blue eyed man pulled up a seat beside Rin’s own, too close to help the pink spreading across the red head’s cheeks at all. Rin could feel Haru watching him and worked hard to hide his embarrassment, leaning back and taking a deep breath.  
“So you’d like a piece on your forearm?”  
The dark haired man offered easily, gently taking the red head by the wrist and laying out his arm before him like a canvas, eyeing the clear skin carefully.  
“How big were you thinking?”  
The incredibly cool and steady fingers on his arm made Rin’s stomach leap somersaults and he shifted in his seat, gulping,  
“I guess about the whole length,”  
He trailed a finger down his forearm as he had done back in the floral shop, trying to focus on the task at hand rather than the hands brushing his skin. Haru nodded, blue eyes easily meeting the red head’s own.  
“Any design in mind yet?”  
Rin bit his lip. He was embarrassed to have to admit this stuff to the man he admired, but he had no choice.  
“I was thinking a cherry blossom branch. But the way I picture it, the lines aren’t clean- it’s more like a water color design…”  
Haru pursed his lips thoughtfully and Rin panicked, adding quickly,  
“I mean I don’t really know what your art is like so- if that’s something bizarre I could talk to one of the artists maybe or-“  
The blue eyed man was rustling through his work station and pulled out a black binder, shoving it into Rin’s hand before he could continue sputtering. Rin gulped and opened the binder, slowly beginning to flip through the pages filled with pictures of tattoos. They were all beautiful, intricate pieces filled with vibrant color, flowers, animals and patterns on skin all made to look like they were perfect watercolor paintings. Rin was in awe, practically breathing,  
“You’re…a watercolor artist.”  
“I could sketch a design for you by tomorrow- come by this same time in the evening.”  
Rin was feeling a little dazed. Who was this blue eyed man and why was every detail about him mesmerizing to the red head? He nodded weakly and Haru stood, indicating their meeting was over- but Rin couldn’t let it end here.  
“Uh- your art-!”  
He scrambled to his feet and offered back the black binder, articulating with a shy rub to the back of his neck,  
“You’re really talented.”  
“Thank you,”  
Haru answered distractedly with his gaze off to the side, the compliment obviously being something he heard a lot and it still obviously being something he hadn’t figured out how to comfortably receive, taking the binder and tucking it away again before beginning to gather his things. Rin glanced at the clock, becoming hopeful when he saw it read 8 pm.  
“Are you finished for the night?”  
“We’re closed.”  
He replied a little pointedly but Rin was beginning to learn not to get offended by Haru’s tone, watching him sling a bag over his shoulder and grab the mint plant from earlier.  
“Sorry I kept you so late…”  
The red head rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly and offered a grin which Haru glanced at before beginning to lead him back out to the lobby, flicking off lights as he went.   
“It’s fine- you just got off, didn’t you…”  
Rin was flattered by the attention even though it was certainly minimal, laughing as he replied,  
“Yeah we only get off a half hour apart- the bus I take doesn’t come until later though so I guess we leave around the same time. Do you take the bus or…?”  
“I walk. My apartment’s only 3 blocks back from here.”  
He answered readily, as if beginning to expect Rin’s intrusive questions, holding the door for the red head before locking it behind them.  
“In that case let me come see your place!”  
He used enthusiasm to hide his desperation, not wanting to part yet from the blue eyed man that had suddenly and fully captivated him, grinning and winking as he spoke,  
“Let me check up on all those plants- it’s in the direction of my bus stop anyway…~”  
Haru eyed the red head a moment, shifting the plant in his hands, but finally he seemed to decide it was more effort than he could muster to say no, replying with a sigh,  
“Fine.”  
Rin’s grin didn’t falter even as he felt his stomach once again lurch at the blue eyed man’s words but Haru had already turned and started down the road without another word. The red head jogged over and fell into step beside Haru easily, digging his hands deep into his pockets and sighing contentedly as they walked, eager to see what this evening with the blue eyed artist would entail.


End file.
